Trump says he'll have to sell properties to get enough money for New York civil case bond

Former President Donald Trump said the millions he needs to put up for a bond in his New York civil fraud case is going to force him to sell his assets at “fire sale prices.”

“Judge Engoron actually wants me to put up Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for the Right to Appeal his ridiculous decision. In other words, he is trying to take my Appellate Rights away from me,” Mr. Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Tuesday. “Nobody has ever heard of anything like this before.”

He added, “I would be forced to mortgage or sell Great Assets, perhaps at Fire Sale prices, and if and when I win the Appeal, they would be gone. Does that make sense? WITCH HUNT. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!”

The post comes after the former president’s lawyers said Monday it’s nearly impossible to get a bond for the $464 million he owes in the New York judgment against him for business fraud claims.

The case, brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, found that Mr. Trump and his company submitted fraudulent documents to get better business loan terms and insurance. He was ordered to pay nearly $355 million by Judge Arthur Engoron. The amount continues to gain interest while it doesn’t get paid.

In a court filing, Mr. Trump’s lawyers said they approached 30 surety companies through four brokers and found that obtaining the money was “a practical impossibility.”  

“The Corrupt Political Hacks in New York, Judge and AG, are asking me to put up massive amounts of money before I am allowed to appeal the ridiculous decision. Never done before. No jury, no victim, full disclaimer clause, happy banks. ELECTION INTERFERENCE! WITCH HUNT!” the former president wrote in another Tuesday post.

Mr. Trump is appealing the judgment and requested a stay on collecting the money until the appeal goes through, but Associate Judge Anil Singh denied his request last month.

On Monday, the former president called the amount of the bond “unConstitutional, un-American, unprecedented and practically impossible.”